Repository and knowledge base on infectious diseases for seafarers

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented challenges, including lockdowns, difficulties inverification, staff swaps, and restricted international travel. These factors underscore our globalunpreparedness for such crises. While these challenges have significantly affected life on land, their impact onmaritime activities has been even more pronounced.Life at sea has been particularly strained due to the inability to disembark, prolonged voyages resulting fromorganisational replacements, limited access to hospitals during sea travel, and challenges in early illnessdiagnosis and effective isolation. These hurdles have collectively made navigating the pandemic exceptionallydifficult for maritime communities.Within the framework of the DESSEV project, funded by the European Union Erasmus+, a DEcision SupportSystem (DSS) addressing epidemic threats on sea-going vessels has been developed. This initiative includesthe establishment of a learning repository and knowledge base on infectious diseases. The repositoryencompasses WHO recommendations, IMO guidance, and procedures from select countries for managingindividuals with symptoms or an imminent case of infection on board. Additionally, the repository includesdetailed medical cases presented in the form of scientific articles, all of which are accessible free of charge onthe project website, www.dessevproject.eu.A second key objective of the project was the creation of a database on infectious diseases. This databasecomprises 22 infectious diseases described with 35 symptoms, grouped into 8 categories. The accumulatedknowledge serves as the foundation for the development of IF...THEN... rules in the form of decision trees.This article presents the tangible results achieved through the DESSEV project. It provides insights into howthe project has contributed to addressing the unique challenges faced by crews of sea-going vessels during thepandemic, offering a valuable resource for maritime communities and public health professionals.